


Just Hold On

by Reading_Nut_Cassirole



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Gen, Ghost Drifting, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 06:06:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15924431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reading_Nut_Cassirole/pseuds/Reading_Nut_Cassirole
Summary: The team is on a mission in Gotham, but Wally gets shot. How will the team take it? How will Robin? How will Artemis?





	1. …No

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing
> 
> I got the inspiration for this story after reading Ghost by Fighter1357. I also thought that this story could also show why Wally and Artemis is not in season 2 at the beginning. (wrote this before finishing the show.) Well I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Wally: No, they won't.
> 
> Me: Wally? Ummm…
> 
> Wally: Didn't expect to see me did you?
> 
> Me: Ummmm… not really.
> 
> Wally: Yeah, that's what I thought. That's because…
> 
> Me: *runs over and slaps a hand over Wally's mouth* No! You can't tell them, that will ruin the whole story.
> 
> Wally: *pushes my hand off his mouth* Good.
> 
> Me: Ok, I'm just gonna say this ahead of time. I'm sorry. You'll understand after you read this first chapter. Just be glad that I don't own Young Justice.
> 
> Wally: humph. With the way you write, you wouldn't think that.
> 
> Me: Hey! I…
> 
> Wally: Just shut up and let them read the stupid chapter already.
> 
> Me: … ok.

**Me: Oh, one last thing before you start reading.**

**Wally: Ughhh, do you have to do this to me?**

**Me: Sorry, I think it's important. Ok real quickly, '** _person's thought', mind link_ _**.** _ **There that's all I needed to say.**

_**\---** _

The team was assigned to stake out a warehouse in Gotham. Batman was on a mission with the League and couldn't make it himself, so he made the team go, much to his dismay. The entire Young Justice team was there, well, everyone except Zatanna and Rocket. Zatanna was with the League helping Dr. Fate, and Rocket was with Icon on a secret mission by themselves, which left the original team.

They were all split up into three teams around the warehouse, Robin and Kaldur, Artemis and Wally, and M'gann and Conner.

_Is everyone online?_  M'gann asked.

_Yeah,_ Conner said in his usual deadpan way.

_You bet,_  Wally said happily.

_What no stupid pick up line, Baywatch?_  Artemis asked accusingly.

_No way, I'm saving those for you, Beautiful,_  Wally said giving her one of his trademark grins.

Artemis blushed as she smiled and looked away.  _You know, we have a mission to complete,_ Robin said, teasing them a bit.

_Yes, we must focus,_ Kaldur said trying to get the others to focus on the mission again.  _Kid, Artemis, try to find a way into the warehouse. The rest of us will wait for your signal._

_Understood,_  Wally and Artemis said at the same time. They both looked at each other then turned away slightly embarrassed, they then turned and headed toward the warehouse.

They found a door on the side of the building and three windows, one of them broken completely out.  _There's a window broken on the west side of the building,_  Artemis told the others.  _We'll go in and have a look around._

_Understood. Be careful,_  Kaldur warned them.

Wally and Artemis went in through the window and walked down the hallway. They heard someone talking and headed toward the voice. Once they found the room the voice was coming from, they crouched down so they wouldn't be spotted and tried to listen.

"The Bat could be here any minute. The boss wants these boxes outta here tonight," a tall, muscular man that had a mustache and short black hair said to two other men, slightly shorter than the first man.

"We know," the second man said as he picked up one of the boxes.

"Don't worry," the third man said also grabbing a box, "we'll be outta here before Bats arrives, besides, I heard he wasn't in town tonight, so we don't have anything to worry 'bout."

"Yeah, well, the boss still wants us to hurry," the first guy said as he looked around slightly nervous and picked up the last box.

_Guys, there's only three guys. We'll be able to take them down no prob. Just hang there and me and Arty will handle this._

_KF, don't underestimate them. There could be more hiding somewhere._

_Where would they hide, Rob? The room here is so big and there's hardly anything in it._

_Just be careful,_  Kaldur said also agreeing with Robin that there could be more.

What they failed to notice while they were talking though, was that the first man handed off his box and told that guy to bring the others outside in for one last talk before they left. So unknown to both Wally and Artemis, they were walking into the lion's den.

They hid behind a large tarp covered object that the three men didn't seem interested in and watched as the second and third guy disappeared.  _Hey, where did that big burly guy's box go?_ Wally asked.

_Don't know, but this is the perfect time to strike. Let's go,_  Artemis said then pulled out her bow, nocked an arrow, and ran out from behind the tarp. Wally followed.

"Hey!" the man said when he saw them.

Wally sped over and punched the guy squarely in the jaw and stood over the fallen man. Artemis pointed her bow and arrow at the man and glared down at him. "What are in those boxes?" she asked her voice going deep to try and scare the man.

The man just laughed at the two and Wally and Artemis looked at each other. "Uhhhh, did we miss the joke?" Wally asked.

Suddenly, men ran into the room and surrounded them. There were probably over thirty guys standing around them.  _Uhhhh, guys, we may have a problem._  Wally said, fear slightly evident in his voice.

_We are on our way,_  Kaldur said, and then he and the others ran toward the warehouse.

By the time the others got into the building, Wally and Artemis were already fighting and there was gunfire going off. Kaldur pulled out his water-bearers which immediately turned into hammers, Robin pulled out a few bird-a-rangs and threw them at a couple of the guys closest to him, M'gann used her telekinesis to throw a guy into two other guys that were charging at them, and Conner just charged, yelling as he punched a few guys that went flying through the air into a few other guys.

They fought for what seemed like hours, working with each other to take down bad guys and slowly but surely knocking them unconscious. They were winning this battle and that made them fight even harder, but the team froze for a moment when they heard a gunshot and then a yell.

"KF!" Robin shouted. He punched and kicked the two guys he was fighting then ran over to his friend.

Wally was down on the ground, clutching his chest and panting hard. The men that were fighting him abandoned him after he was shot and went to help their fellow bad guys. Robin knelt down and tried to assess Wally's injury. "Dude… Rob, that… that really… hurt."

"Wally, don't move," Robin said as he tried to keep Wally from sitting up. He pulled Wally's hand away from where the bullet hit him and gasped as his eyes got wider.

The bullet had hit right in the center of Wally's chest, blood staining his bright yellow suit. "Rob… it's… it's gettin' ha… harder to… breath," Wally panted. He had his eye shut tight from the pain as Robin put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Shhh, don't try to talk." Robin could tell Wally was fading fast. He quickly looked around and saw Artemis punching the crap out of the guy that shot Wally. "Arty, I need help over here!"

Artemis finally let the guy go and he fell to the ground as she ran to Wally's other side. Robin was now more in control of his emotions, but fear still clung to him. "What can I do?" Artemis asked as she looked down at Wally and ran her hand through his hair. Wally opened his eyes and smiled at her, but soon closed them again and his face twisted in pain once again.

"Take over here," he gestured with his head to his blood covered hands. On the count of three they quickly switched places which caused a gasp of pain from Wally. Robin then rummaged through his utility belt, pulling out gauze pads and other things to try and treat the wound, but as he used one hand to grab all this stuff, he reached up with his other hand to his comm. link. "Robin to Justice League, ergent."

"Black Canary here, what's wrong?"

"We have a man down. Wally was shot in the chest and I can't tell if there is an exit hole in his back. He's losing a lot of blood and is in a lot of pain," he answered. "What do I do?" His fear was very clear to both Artemis and Black Canary.

"First of all, stay calm. Secondly, keep pressure on the wound. Is there blood underneath of him?"

Robin glanced down. "Tons."

"Then we can assume that the bullet did go through. Ok, do you have any gauze pads or any kind of rags?"

"I have some gauze pads from my utility belt but there's not enough here."

"Robin, I need you to take a deep breath and stay calm." Black Canary could here that he was still tense and freaking out. He needed to stay calm if he was going to help his friend. Robin took a deep, shaky breath. "Good. Now, place all the gauze pads you have on the wound and take off your cape and try to wrap it as tight as you can around his chest."

Robin did as she asked. He handed some of the gauze pads to Artemis, who took them and pressed them firmly on the wound, then they both carefully raised Wally up enough so Robin could place the remaining gauze pads on the wound on his back then removed his cape, ripped it in half, and slid it underneath Wally.

Wally cried out in pain as they moved him. He tried not to yell too much, but the pain was too much. All of Wally's yelling, plus the sight of all the blood on him, caused Artemis to start crying. They carefully laid him back flat on the floor and Robin tied the cape over the wound as tight as he could, causing Wally to yell out in pain again. Robin looked down at his best friend with a sad look. "I'm sorry." He made sure that the cape was tied as tight as it could go. "Ok, now what?"

"Ok, now you need to get him back to the mountain as fast as you can. I'm gonna contact Flash and tell him what happened. Keep him conscious as long as possible." Robin looked down and saw Wally slowly losing the battle to keep his eyes open. "You did good, Robin," she said before she ended the transmission.

Robin continued to look at Wally. Wally closed his eyes and Robin shook him a little. "KF, come man you have to stay awake."

Wally opened his eyes again and looked up at Robin. "I… it hurts… and I'm… so… tired." Wally closed his eyes again and his head fell slightly to his right."

"Baywatch, don't you dare do this to me!" Artemis yelled as she turned his face toward her.

Again Wally opened his eyes and gave her a painful smile before he squeezed them shut tight from a shot of pain that ripped through his chest and yelled again. Artemis grabbed his hand as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

While Robin and Artemis were taking care of Wally, Kaldur, Conner, and M'gann were all trying to keep an eye on their friends. Whenever one of the bad guys got to close to them, one of them raced toward them and stopped the attack.

By the time Robin and Artemis got Wally all patched up, the three of them had all the bad guys taken care of. Kaldur went off to inform the police to come and pick up the bad guys, and M'gann and Conner ran over to Wally's side.

"How is he?" M'gann asked quietly. She found herself barely able to talk.

"We need to get him back to the mountain. Black Canary's waiting for us. M'gann, can you levitate him without moving him to much?" Robin asked as he stood up and faced the Martian.

M'gann slowly nodded, not looking away from Wally. She slowly raised Wally up, being careful not to move him too much. Artemis stood up with him, still holding on to his hand.

They all quickly walked to the door, met Kaldur outside, then went straight to the bio ship. Once inside, M'gann made a bed to set Wally on then ran to the pilot's seat. She set a course for the mountain and put the ship in the fastest speed she could go, but it was still going to take at least an hour to get back to the mountain.

Everyone but M'gann either stood or sat next to Wally's bed. Wally was staring at Artemis, but his eyes slowly shut. "Wally? Wally!" Artemis was shaking him, trying to get him to open his eyes again, but it wasn't working. She and Robin were the closest to him and they both tried and tried to get him to open his eyes again, but what happened instead made everyone's hearts stop.

Wally had stopped breathing.


	2. He's…

Black Canary was quickly gathering supplies and equipment so that she would be ready to help Wally when the team got here when the computer announced Flash's arrival.

"Whereishe?Isheok?Howmuchbloodhashelost?"

"Flash, slow down! The kids aren't here yet. M'gann just called and said that they are ten minutes away, but Flash…" she walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "he's stopped breathing." Flash's eyes went wide. "Now they're doing everything to keep them alive, but he hasn't been breathing on his own for almost forty-five minutes."

Flash's legs felt like jelly to him. He fell to his knees. Canary knelt down in front of him. Flash pulled off his mask and Canary saw tears running down his face. She pulled him into a hug and they both sat there, the only noise being his soft crying for his nephew.

They hadn't realized how much time had passed until M'gann contacted them. "Black Canary, we're approaching the mountain now. Please open the hanger bay door." Canary and Flash both ran to the hanger bay.

Once the ship landed, the door opened but nobody came out. Canary and Flash looked at each other then ran into the bio ship. They saw the whole team surrounding Wally, M'gann crying into Conner's shoulder, Kaldur just staring, Robin sitting there staring at him with tears running down his cheeks, and Artemis gripping his hand and crying into his shoulder.

Wally was hooked up to a portable breathing unit, the only thing keeping him alive at this point. Flash and Canary slowly walked over to the team. The team all looked up at them and the ones standing moved so the elders could get to Wally.

Flash went to Wally's side. He took Robin's spot and laid a hand on Wally's arm. "K… Kid?"

Wally didn't move. Artemis looked up when she heard Flash's voice. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying. A tear escaped Flash's eye as he unhooked Wally from the breathing unit, picked him up, and ran as fast as he could to the infirmary.

"Come on, let's get off this ship," Canary said to the others. They all nodded then slowly followed her off the ship.

Flash already had Wally hooked up to the breathing unit in the infirmary along with the heart monitor and a few other things by the time the rest of them got there. The heart monitor was beeping, but so slow. They all knew that he was losing this battle.

Canary turned to the young team. "Please, go wait outside."

The team just stood there. Flash looked up to them angrily. "Get out of here!" The tone of his voice made the team jerk back a bit then they turned and walked out the door.

Once they were out, Canary turned to Flash. "You didn't have to yell at them."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll apologize later, right now we need to help Wally." She nodded and walked over to the bed

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

It had been an hour since Flash and Canary told them to leave. They were all starting to get worried. "Why haven't they come out yet? It shouldn't have taken them this long," Artemis said as she continued to pace back and forth.

No one knew what to say. They too wanted to know why it was taking so long. Every once and a while someone would look toward the infirmary door then quickly look away. They all knew that Wally might not make it, but they didn't want to think that way.

Robin, however, was expecting it. He sat high in the rafters of the mountain so no one would be able to see him cry. He didn't know what he would do if he lost another person that he loved. He could tell by the way Canary told him that he had to keep Wally awake, that if he fell asleep he was never going to wake up again. He tried his hardest to keep his friend awake, but he failed and now he may never wake up again.

The room was deathly quiet, and they all hated it, but the silence was broken when the computer announced the arrival of Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, and J'onn.

M'gann ran to her uncle and fell into his arms. He slowly walked the two of them to the couch and sat down. Red Tornado went to the infirmary to see if he could be of some help, and Superman and Captain Marvel just hung back and waited. Batman looked around the room and saw everyone but his son. He then looked up and saw a small piece of red in the rafters.

Robin saw Batman staring at him, so he jumped down and Batman and the other adults gasped. Robin was covered in blood. It was on his hands and arms, his legs, his face, everywhere. His appearance showed them how bad the situation really was. Batman walked forward and wrapped Robin in his cape as Robin started crying again.

"I… I couldn't…" Robin tried to get out, but he just couldn't.

"Shhhh, it's gonna be alright," Batman tried to comfort him, but even he knew that things weren't good.

Another ten long minutes passed before Flash came out of the room. Everyone jumped up and ran to the red clad hero, but immediately froze when they saw Flash fall to his knees in defeat. Everyone then knew that the young speedster was gone.

The room suddenly went from quiet to full of sorrow and grief, tears falling from the two girls' faces. Canary had tears falling from her eyes as she and Red Tornado walked into the room. She walked up to Flash and wrapped her arms around him. Batman just clung tighter to Robin, but to everyone's surprise he burst out of Batman's arms. "No!" He then ran straight for the infirmary.

"Robin!" Batman cried out then ran after him.

Robin rushed into the room and over to Wally's still form. He had been disconnected from the breathing unit and the heart monitor and everything else they had him hooked up to. Now he just looked like he was sleeping.

"Wally! Wally, wake up!" Tears streamed down Robin's face uncontrollably. He pounded on his friend's chest several times. "No, Wally, you have to wake up!"

Batman stopped at the door and saw Robin over Wally's body crying and hitting him begging for him to wake up. He slowly walked over and pulled Robin into his embrace again. Robin clung to Batman so hard afraid that if he let go he too would disappear. "Robin, I'm sorry," Batman said quietly.

"He's gone," Robin said into Batman's chest. Batman just closed his eyes and held him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know that it's really short and again I say to everyone I'm sorry I did it. I love Wally I really do…
> 
> Wally: Oh really? Doesn't seem like it.
> 
> Me: … How are you even here? I killed you.
> 
> Wally: I'm dead so I came back to haunt you. Oh, and you better run, I hear water running.
> 
> Me: *eyes go wide* Alright so comment and tell me what you think.
> 
> Wally: What more could you possibly do to me!
> 
> Me: Just calm down. I promise you'll like it.


	3. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the last chapter was really short and I hope you guys aren't too mad that I killed Wally, but there is a point to all this and like I said at the beginning, I see this story as why Wally and Artemis aren't in the second season so…
> 
> Wally: There she is!
> 
> Me: Uh-oh, they found me. Ok I have to run for my life now so I'll let you read this chap. Oh and by the way, the next few chapters will focus on individual thoughts on Wally's death and they'll probably be really short so… *arrow and bird-a-rang zoom past my head* Aghhh! *runs off*

**Wally: *stops and looks at readers* Oh and she made me when I talk in normal POV it looks like thought** _'like this'_ _***runs off to catch up with Robin and Artemis*** _

_\---_

**Wally's POV**

When I looked down right after I died, I saw Uncle Barry, Red Tornado, and Canary trying to bring me back. Oh how I wanted to go back to them so bad. I didn't want to leave them.

I couldn't stand to look at Uncle Barry crying over my death any longer so I looked over at the others waiting in the common room. Man did they look terrible. Artemis was pacing back and forth, M'gann was sitting with Conner and her uncle, Kaldur was talking with Superman and Captain Marvel, and Rob… hey where is Rob? Batman's staring up in the… oh.

Man, Rob's my best friend, how could I… oh my… Is that my blood all over him? And is he crying? Oh Rob, I'm so sorry. Wait, he doesn't know I'm dead yet, does he? Well, at least Batman's trying…

"I… I couldn't…"

Aw man, Rob's blaming himself. Man, why do I have to be so stupid. Rob's already lost his mom and dad, now I have to go and make it even worse for him. I try reaching out to him, but I feel like I'm just hitting a wall, or a TV screen. Yeah, it feels more like I'm watching a movie, or one of those stupid sit-coms that my mom loves to watch.

Crap! Mom, Dad. How are they gonna take this? They're gonna be crushed.

I looked down again and saw Uncle Barry slowly walk into the room then fall to his knees. He was crying again. I then saw everyone jump up and start to go to him, but then they just freeze. Please, someone go to him! Don't just leave him like that! Man if I had a gun I would shoot myself.

"No!"

Rob? Wait, where's… oh. Wait, why is the computer recognizing Arty? Why is she leaving? Arty, come back! Ughhh. I wonder what Rob's doin'.

I looked back over to the infirmary where my body lays motionless on the bed with… Rob hitting me?

"No, Wally, you have to wake up!"

Rob, I'm sooooo sorry. I wish I could wake up, really I do. I don't want to leave my little brother. I can't stand this anymore, I'm going for a walk.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

It's already been two days and I can't seem to face my friends or my family. The way they looked the day I died was too much as it was, but I have to see how they're doing at least. Maybe I'll go check on M'gann, Conner, and Zatanna first.

**Normal POV**

Wally looked down on Mount Justice and saw M'gann slowly stirring a bowl of some kind of mix.  _'Maybe those sugar cookies she always loved to make.'_  However, M'gann suddenly dropped the bowl and the mix went flying.

Conner and Zatanna both ran into the kitchen and found M'gann on the floor crying. Conner ran up to her. "M'gann, what's wrong."

She looked up at him, eyes red from crying for the last few days. "I was making sugar cookies,"  _'Knew it.'_  "and I just remembered that those were Wally's favorite." Wally sadly looked down at them, wanting so much to go down there and comfort her. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys."

"Maybe you shouldn't make them anymore," Conner said trying to help.

"No, I… I wanted to make them for the funeral in a couple of days."  _'A couple of days? That's when my funeral is? Man I need to see Rob and Artemis.'_

Wally left the sight of his friends at the mountain and headed toward Gotham to check on his best friend.

It didn't take long to get to Wayne Manor in Gotham now that he could take a few steps in the sky.  _'Guess that's one perk to being dead.'_

He stood over the mansion, looking down at his best friend sitting in the living room, watching TV, like he didn't care about anything anymore. Bruce walked in and sat down on the couch next to him. "Dick, how are you doing?"

"I'll be fine," Dick said emotionless.

Bruce sighed. "Do you want to talk?"

Dick turned off the TV, but didn't look at Bruce. "Why does everyone that I love have to die?" Dick finally said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

Bruce looked at him sadly then pulled Dick into his arms as Dick began to cry again. Wally had a few tears in his eyes as he watched it play out.

"Dick…" Bruce just wasn't sure how to comfort him at the time. Dick had lost so much, his parents died, he couldn't go back to the circus without remembering that horrible day, and now his best friend was gone. "I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere."

Wally watched as Dick sat in Bruce's arms crying for a good ten minutes before Dick finally went up to his room. Of course, Wally followed him up there. He had to try to help him somehow.

Dick sat on his bed. He grabbed a picture of him and Wally off the nightstand and just starred at it.  _'Dude, I am so sorry. If there was some way to come back you know I would.'_  Dick snorted and smiled a little.  _'I feel horrible about leavin' you guys, but there was nothing you could do about it.'_

"It's all my fault," Dick said still looking down at the picture.  _'No, don't think like that, please.'_ "I wasn't good enough to stop the bleeding, to keep you from going in to shock. I basically let you die."  _'NO! YOU DID NOT!'_

Dick flinched a little but never turned away from the picture. Wally sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  _'I just wish there was some way for me to talk to you guys.'_

Dick started laughing, which really surprised Wally, in fact, he took a few steps back. He just watched his friend laugh, staring at him like he had gone mad.  _'What's so funny?'_

"You, that's who," Dick finally managed to say after he calmed his laughter down.

Wally just stared at him completely shocked.  _'Wait, so you can hear me?'_

Dick didn't only look up, but looked right at Wally and chuckled. "Yeah, and see you too. It's good to see you again."

Wally just stood there with his mouth open. He finally shook his head and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. "Dick, is everything ok?" Bruce asked as he opened the door and walked into the room.

Dick gave him a small smile, but never looked away from Wally. "Yeah, everything's fine, Bruce."

Bruce looked at what Dick was looking at, but all he saw was a blank wall. "Ok," he said a little skeptical. He looked once more at Dick before he walked out of the room.

' _It's like he couldn't see me,'_  Wally finally said once Bruce left.

"He probably can't," Dick said as he stood up and put the picture back on the stand.

' _Ok? But why? Why are you the only one that can see and hear me?'_

"How many people have you tried talking too since you basically became a ghost?" Dick asked with a slight smirk on his face.

' _Well, before I came here, I went to the mountain and tried to talk to the guys there, but I thought they couldn't hear me. M'gann said that… she said that she thought she could hear my voice! She did hear me!'_

"Maybe you're just getting used to communicating with mortals. You probably wasn't trying as hard as you were here."

Wally nodded, thinking about what Dick had just told him. He looked back up.  _'I really am sorry for leaving you guys like that, and please don't blame yourself, Dick, you did everything you could.'_

Dick sat back down on the bed. "Oh yeah, then why are you standing here in my room as a ghost?"

Dick wasn't looking at Wally anymore, so Wally walked over to him and concentrated on making himself solid. He put his hand on Dick's shoulder which caused Dick to look up at him a bit surprised. Wally just smiled and sat down next to him.  _'You know me, I don't always do what's supposed to be done.'_  When he got no smile, he sighed again and wrapped his arm around Dick.  _'Look, I don't know why people die, but sometimes there's just nothing you can do about it.'_

"Yeah, but why'd it have to be you?" Dick had tears welling up in his eyes again. He looked up at the Flying Graysons' poster. "Why did they have to be them?"

Wally looked up at the poster too.  _'I told you, I don't have the answer to that, but I do know this, you have to hold on.'_  Dick looked at Wally now like he was the crazy one.

Wally stood up and walked over to the picture of the young justice team and picked it up. He then turned around.  _'You've been through this before, with your parents. You can help the rest of the team.'_  Dick looked away from Wally.  _'Dick, most of the team has never been through the loss of a loved one. Yeah, Zatanna lost her dad to Dr. Fate, but Conner, M'gann, they're new to this.'_ He brought the picture over and handed it to Dick. Dick took the picture and looked at it.  _'You have to keep the team together, be their strength.'_

The room was quiet for a few minutes before Dick finally looked back up to Wally and smiled. "That's why you're still here." Wally looked at him totally lost. Dick chuckled again. "Your job isn't finished here on earth yet."

' _Ok, I have no idea what you're talking about.'_

"Bruce told me about it one time. He has this friend called Deadman. He's like you, a ghost. Bruce said that the reason why he couldn't cross over was because he still had something to do here on earth. Deadman believes that he has to find the man who killed him, but I think you have to help us."

' _Whoa. So you're saying that because I'm a ghost and I haven't crossed over is because I have to help you guys with my death?'_

Dick shrugged and walked over to place the picture back on his desk. "Who knows, it could be something totally different, but I'm just guessing." He turned around. "So where will you go now?"

' _Well, if you can handle the rest of the team, I was thinking 'bout going over to Arty's and getting her out of her sour mood."_ They both laughed at that.

"I'm really gonna miss you Wally," Dick said sad again.

' _I'm gonna miss you too.'_

Dick walked up to Wally and wrapped his arms around him in a hug and the tears finally fell from his eyes. Wally wrapped his arms around Dick as well. "Just take care of yourself in the afterlife," Dick said as the broke off the hug.

' _I will,'_  Wally replied then messed up Dick's hair, which got a laugh out of him.

Wally took a few steps back then looked to the sky and flew off. Dick watched him as he disappeared through the ceiling then sighed. "Hey, Bruce," he yelled as he walked toward the door. He could hardly hear Bruce calling back, but he did. He took one more look at the ceiling where Wally disappeared, smiled, then walked out the door to go talk and hang out with Bruce.

It was about time he finally let Wally rest in peace and try to go on with his life. He would never forget Wally, cause that just wouldn't be possible, but he knew that Wally was right. He had to help the team get through Wally's death, and for him to do that, he would have to get past his own grief.


	4. Artemis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Hey guys, welcom… Arty, are you ok?
> 
> Artemis: ….. You made… I… we… he… but, but…
> 
> Me: Calm down, Arty, it's gonna be ok.
> 
> Artemis: *looks around* Robin! *runs out of room*
> 
> Wally: *to me* Oh great, thanks. *to Arty running after her* Artemis, wait!
> 
> Me: Ok, sorry bout that confusion but read this chapter and I'm sure you can figure out what she was freaking out about. Enjoy.

Wally stood over Artemis' apartment. Now that he knew his friends on the team could see him, he was a little scared at how the others would act.  _"Rob was fine, but I don't think the others will take it so well."_

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated on being invisible, and headed into the building.

He walked into the living room part of the apartment and saw Artemis' mom sitting there watching tv, but he barely glanced at her as he walked past her and toward Artemis' room.

He walked through the bedroom door, hoping she was decent, and saw her lying on her bed. She had her face down in the pillow, so he couldn't tell if she was sleeping or just lying there.

He looked around. It looked just like he remembered it; two beds, a poster for  _Alice in Wonderland_ , and a dresser. He sat down on the other bed and just watched Artemis.

He watched her for a good fifteen, twenty minutes before she finally stirred. She sat up and Wally could now see her face. She had red, puffy eyes and tear streaks down her face, and she looked absolutely terrible.

" _What are you doing, Arty?"_

Artemis jerked her head up and quickly scanned the room. "Who's there?"

' _Crap. I'm not invisible enough,'_  he thought before he closed his eyes and concentrated on being completely visible.  _'Might as well. She already knows someone's here.'_

Artemis gasped and just stared at Wally as he appeared before her. They starred at each other, Artemis still to shocked by Wally's sudden appearance to speak.

After another few minutes of just staring at each other, Wally finally broke the silence.  _"Hey, Beautiful,"_  he said smiling at her.

Artemis shook her head, got up, walked over to the other bed, and sat down next to him. Wally just watched her, still smiling.

She slowly reached over to touch him, stopping occasionally. When she finally touched his arm, she gasped again and quickly pulled her hand away then just looked at him.

Wally laughed a bit.  _"I'm really here, Babe."_

Artemis smiled and reached her hand up to touch his face, but just before she touched him, she balled up her fist and punched him as hard as she could. Wally went flying backwards and off the bed.

" _What was that for?"_  Wally asked as he stood back up.

"That was for leaving me!" Artemis yelled as she stormed over to him

Once she was in front of him again, she balled up her fist again and tried to hit him again, but Wally saw that one coming and ran.  _"Artemis, hold on a sec."_

"Why should I?" she asked mad with tears falling from her eyes again.

Wally slowly walked toward her, his arms stretched out, as Artemis continued to glare at him, but he didn't think the glare looked too menacing with the tears in her eyes.  _"Look, I'm sorry, and yes, you have every right to be mad at me, but I came here to see you."_  He finally reached her and pulled her into a hug.

As soon as Wally pulled her to him, Artemis just broke down. Her legs gave out causing them both to fall to the ground, but Wally made sure that they went down slow enough so she didn't get hurt.

Artemis just clung to Wally and cried for a good twenty minutes before her sobs started to calm down. After another five minutes or so, she finally pulled away from him. "Why did you have to go?" She was now staring at him sadly, tears still in her eyes just no longer falling.

" _I don't know, babe, but if there was any way to come back to you you know I would."_

Artemis just nodded then got up and walked over to her nightstand. She picked up a picture with her and the rest of the team after the battle on the Watch Tower. They were all celebrating New Year's when they took a picture of the young team acting goofy. Wally was holding Artemis bridle style while both he and Artemis were making faces, Robin was hanging on Wally as well as giving Wally bunny ears, Conner was just smiling while M'gann was on his shoulders with her arms reached up into the air and smiling, Zatanna and Rocket were both leaning on Kaldur's shoulders, with one leg bent up in the air, and kissing him on the cheek making the Atlantien blush.

Wally came up behind her and smiled as he put his arms around her and his chin on her shoulder.  _"That was a great night."_

"Yeah," Artemis said smiling. She then sat the picture back down and turned toward Wally, still in his arms, sad again. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

After a few minutes, Wally broke off the kiss.  _"Arty, listen."_  He untangled himself from her and sat down on her bed and Artemis did the same.  _"I don't know how long I have left here, but I don't want you to be alone."_ Artemis looked at him a bit confused. Wally sighed, stood up, walked over to the nightstand, picked up the picture, and just stood there with his back to her just starring at the picture.

"Wally," Artemis said softly but stayed sitting, "we're all gonna miss you, but we won't be alone."

" _So you'll go back to the team?"_  Wally asked turning back around but not putting down the picture.

Artemis looked down at her hands in her lap. "Yeah, but I think I'll wait until after the funeral. I just don't know if I can go back yet. Wait," Artemis said looking back up at him a bit confused, "was you just meaning me?"

Wally looked back down at the picture.  _"Yeah, and he'll probably ki… uhhhh… be really mad at me for doing this."_

"Doing what? What are you talking about, Baywatch?"

Wally smiled at the nickname she gave to him the first day she met him.  _"Rob."_

"What about him?"

Wally glanced once more at the picture before he sat it back down on the nightstand.  _"His secret identity,"_  he said smiling up at her.

Artemis looked shocked. "You're gonna tell me Robin's secret identity? Bats would kill me! Are you trying to get me killed?"

" _Well, I figured Rob could help you figure that out, you know, come up with a believable story on how you found out,"_ he said smiling bigger. He then lost that smile and got sad again.  _"You and I hung out all the time after that night on the Watch Tower. I won't be around to do that with you anymore."_  Artemis cringed at that.  _"I just want you to have someone you can hang out with, someone that can be there for you when you really need them. I could always be there a few minutes after you called, and Rob can too. He lives in Gotham so he can get here fast."_

"Wally, I'll be fine. I can go to the mountain. M'gann would be there for me…"

" _But he likes you too,"_  he said quieter.

The room went silent. Neither one of them moved for a few minutes, but then Artemis broke the silence. "He… likes me?" she asked clearly shocked. "But I thought he liked Zatanna?"

Wally smiled again.  _"Well, he does like her, but he told me that if I didn't like you, and you didn't like me, or I didn't get my butt in gear, that he would've made his move."_

"How did he know I liked you?"

" _Well, after New Year's, he and Zatanna came up to me and we were talkin' 'bout it. They said every time I tried flirting with M'gann you got jealous."_ He smiled a devious smile.

Artemis blushed and looked away. "I wasn't jealous."

" _Yeah,"_  Wally laughed,  _"that's not what Rob said."_

Artemis just got redder. "Fine," she said finally looking back up at him, "I was jealous. I just can't believe you couldn't see that M'gann and Conner were a thing," she said with her own devious smile.

Now it was Wally's turn to blush. "I… Well, you see…"

Artemis just busted up laughing causing Wally to blush more. After a few more minutes, they both heard a knock on the door. "Artemis, are you ok?"

Artemis just smiled and looked at Wally. "Fine, mom."

"Ok. I have supper ready. Will you come out to eat with me" her mom asked hopefully.

Wally nodded his head at her. "Yeah, mom, I'll be right out."

They could both hear her sigh from the other side of the door then heard her wheel off.

" _I'll leave so you can go eat."_

"Wait," she said trying to grab his wrist, but her hand went right through it. She gasped and took a step back.

" _Sorry, I have to become transparent to leave or I'll run right into the ceiling,"_ he said smiling.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" she asked hopeful.

" _I promise. Besides, I still have to tell you Robs ID,"_ he replied smiling then turned and jumped up into the air and vanished through the ceiling.

Artemis smiled then walked out of her room to go eat with her mother for the first time since Wally's death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go. Now to explain myself a little bit.
> 
> Robin: That would be nice. Why in the world do you think I like Artemis?
> 
> Me: Well, after watching Homefront… or maybe it was a couple eps before or after… I seriously thought they were gonna put you and Arty as a couple.
> 
> Robin: *blushing* Oh. *runs out of the room*
> 
> Me: *smiling and crossing arms* He so likes her.


	5. I Know Who You Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *soaking wet* Hey everyone.
> 
> Robin: Uhhh, why are you all wet.
> 
> Me: Well, when you went off to help Batman, Wally and Arty caught me and hung me over that tank.
> 
> Robin: You mean they actually did it?
> 
> Wally: *zooms in and hides behind Robin* Rob, you've got to save me.
> 
> Robin: Save you? From who? Reading Nut's right here and...
> 
> Artemis: WALLY! *stomps in room*
> 
> Me: I think I'm gonna go over here. *walks to other side of room*
> 
> Robin: What's going on?
> 
> Artemis: *to Wally* HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!
> 
> Wally: I... I... *runs out of room*
> 
> Artemis: Get back here! *runs out of room after him*
> 
> Robin: What the heck did I miss?
> 
> Me: *giggling and walking back toward Robin* I'll tell you after the readers read this chapter.
> 
> Robin: *to readers* Please hurry up and read the chapter.
> 
> Me: Don't be rude.
> 
> Robin: What? I want to know why Arty wants to kill Wally.
> 
> Me: Be patient. *to readers* Enjoy the chap.

Artemis walked into her room and threw her book bag into a corner. "That little troll. I can't believe he did that," she said ticked.

_"Who did what?"_

Artemis jumped and turned toward the voice. Wally stood next to the bag she threw into the corner smiling. "Sheesh, Wally."

Wally just smiled, crossed his arms, and leaned back against the wall.  _"Sorry. So who did what to you?"_

Artemis turned back around and continued to her dresser to grab some clothes to change in to so she could get out of her school uniform. "Grayson." Wally smirked and tried to hide his laughter. Artemis never looked back at him. "He came up behind me, took another picture of me and him, then wouldn't let me see it, but showed it to everyone in the school."

Wally was having a hard time keeping his laughter down, but managed to speak without giving his laughter away.  _"The whole school?"_

She finally found a shirt and a pair of jeans and closed the drawer. "Well, maybe not the whole school, but close enough. Everyone I came across seemed to have a comment about it," she said as she walked to the bathroom and then closed the door.

Wally quietly laughed once the door was closed.  _"Man, I wish I wasn't checking up on the others when that happened. I bet her face was priceless when he did that."_

After another minute, Artemis came out of the bathroom and looked straight at Wally. "What are you smiling about?"

Wally just kept smiling.  _"Nothing. So why'd he do it?"_

"Who knows. He probably just wanted to be annoying."

_"Or maybe because he likes you."_

Artemis froze. "You're crazy. He's just being annoying. He's been that way since I got there." Wally just kept smiling at her. "No, you said Robin liked me, and there's no way Grayson is…" Again Wally tried to hold back a laugh. "No, he can't be… Can he?"

Wally finally uncrossed his arms and walked toward her.  _"Face it, babe, you got trolled by Robin."_

Artemis sat down hard on her bed shocked. "Grayson is Robin?"

 _"Yep,"_  Wally said smiling as he sat down next to her. He then turned her head so she would face him and became serious.  _"Artemis, I can't be with you anymore…"_

"You're here now," Artemis said quickly as she jumped up and stepped away from the bed. "You were here last night."

 _"Yeah, but I don't have much time left here. I have a feeling that after the funeral in two days,"_  Artemis looked away from him sadly at the thought of that,  _"I'm gonna leave and I don't think I'll be able to come back."_  He stood up and wrapped Artemis in his arms. She just cried in his chest.  _"I just don't want you to be alone."_

"Why did you have to die?" Artemis asked still crying.

 _"I don't know, babe. Maybe because you and Rob were meant to be together, or maybe it was just my time,"_  he said trying to comfort her.

"But it's not fair. I just got you and now I lost you."

 _"I know."_  He looked her in her tear filled eyes then leaned down and kissed her.  _"I don't want to lose you to my best friend, but we both have to realize that there's nothing either of us can do."_

Artemis pulled away from him reluctantly, walked over to the nightstand, and picked up the picture of her and the team. "So how long has he liked me?"

_"Well, I'm not totally sure, but he told me right after the whole Reds incident."_

Artemis turned and looked at him. "That long and he never said anything?"

_"He knew we liked each other and he didn't want to mess things up for us."_

"Right, that's what you said," she said looking back down at the picture.

_"Arty, if you think you may like him, you don't have to hid it from me. In fact, I would be happy because then I'd know you will be happy when I'm gone."_

"Don't say that!" Artemis yelled as she threw the picture at him.

Wally tried to move out of the way, but wasn't quite fast enough.  _"Oww!"_  Artemis then stomped up to him and punched him hard in the face, sending him to the floor.  _"Geez, Arty, what's your problem?"_

"Don't you ever say that I'll be happy that you're gone!" Artemis yelled.

Wally got up and with his hands out in front of him, walked slowly toward her.  _"I didn't say you would be happy_ that _I'm gone, I just meant that you can be happy even though I'm gone."_ He wrapped his arms around her and she burst into tears again.  _"Dick's a good guy. I know he can make you happy,"_ he said sadly.

No one said anything after that. They both just stood there. Finally Wally got Artemis to lay down, and after a few more minutes, she fell asleep.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Artemis woke up at five thirty-seven the next morning and looked around the room. It was still dark and when she pulled back the covers and sat up, she saw that she still had her jeans and shirt on that she put on after she got back home from school.

 _'Did I really sleep through the entire night?'_  She glanced at her clock on the nightstand and saw that it read five thirty-eight.  _'Well, I don't think it would be dark outside if it was still yesterday.'_

She stood up, walked to her closet, and pulled a fresh uniform shirt and skirt off the hooks. She then walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

After she finished her shower and got her hair fixed, she walked back in her room, sat down on her bed, closed her eyes, and sighed. She then opened her eyes and spotted the broken picture frame on the floor.

She stood up, walked over to the picture, and carefully picked it up. She then removed the picture from the broken frame, laid the picture on the floor, picked up the rest of the broken glass, threw them in the trash, picked the picture up off the floor, sat on her bed, and just stared at it.

She heard a knock at the door and looked up to see her mom coming in. "I wanted to make sure you were up and ready for school," her mom said.

"I am," Artemis said looking back down at the picture.

"Is everything all right?" her mom asked concerned.

"I just really miss Wally. His funeral is tomorrow," she replied not looking at her mom.

Her mom rolled her wheelchair over to Artemis and placed a hand on Artemis' knee. "I know it's hard, but I'm sure he wouldn't want you to be acting the way you have been since he died."

Artemis looked up at her and smiled. "You're right, mom, he doesn't like it that I've been avoiding everybody. He wants me to find someone I can be happy with and it happens to be someone I already know."

Her mom looked at her a bit confused, not really understanding, but just smiled and patted Artemis' knee. "I'm glad he has convinced you to move on."

"I don't think I'll ever get over his death, mom."

"It will take some time, and yes, you'll never truly get over it, but the important thing is to continue with your life and not let this stop you from being happy."

Artemis leaned over and hugged her. "Thanks, mom."

Her mom smiled and hugged her back. "You're welcome, and don't forget that I will always be here for you."

Artemis leaned back. "I know."

Her mom smiled and then rolled back to the door. "I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes."

"Ok, I'll be down in a minute," Artemis said as she watched her mom leave.

Once her mom was gone, Artemis looked back at the picture in her hand, smiled as she looked at Wally and Robin, then placed in on her bed and got up and got her stuff together for school.

After a few more minutes, she had all her stuff in her backpack, including her hero outfit, and walked out the door to go eat with her mom.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The first half of school was the same as always for Artemis, boring. She did ok in those classes, but she was anxious to get to the cafeteria. She wanted to talk to Dick about everything Wally told her, and to find out if it was all true.

The bell rang and everyone in the classroom gathered up their books and started heading out the door. "Remember, your paper is due next week," Mr. Kyles said.

 _'Right, maybe Dick can help me on that,'_  Artemis that as she walked out of the room.

She got to her locker, and as she was putting her books away, she heard someone come up behind her. "Hey, Crock."

Artemis smiled, closed her locker, and turned to her visitor. "Hey, Grayson."

"So, you headed to the cafeteria?" Dick asked.

"Yeah."

"Mind if I walk with you?"

"Actually, I was going to try and find you."

Dick looked at her a bit surprised. "You were?"

Artemis chuckled. "Yeah," she said as she started walking toward the cafeteria.

Dick just started at her for a second then ran to catch up to her. "Why?"

"Hmmm?" she asked playing dumb.

Dick rolled his eyes. "Why did you want to find me?"

Artemis smiled. "Oh, I just wanted to talk."

"About wha…" Dick started, but got interrupted when Randy ran into him and knocked him to the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're goin', charity case," Randy said as he looked down at Dick. Dick just glared up at him.

Artemis got angry and pushed Randy hard. "Hey, buzz off. You ran into him."

Randy caught himself before he fell into his friends behind him and gave Artemis a dirty look. He then looked down at Dick, who was still sitting on the ground and a bit shocked that Artemis was standing up for him. "What's wrong, orphan boy? Need your girlfriend to fight your fights for you?"

Artemis balled up her fists as Randy and his friends laughed at his question. Dick saw this and grabbed Artemis' wrist. Artemis looked down at Dick and Dick just shook his head. She then helped him stand up.

"Awww, you even need your little girlfriend to help you get off the ground." Again Randy and his friends laughed.

Artemis clenched her fists again and took a step forward, but Dick stopped her. She looked over at him still aggravated, but also a bit confused.

Dick shook his head again. "You'll only encourage them," he told her quietly.

"But…" she tried, but Dick just shook his head again. Artemis closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at Randy. "Ok, one, I'm not his girlfriend, and two…" she took a step toward him angrily which caused Randy to take a step back in fear and Dick reach for her arm to stop her before she started a fight, "… you're not worth it."

Dick smiled, let go of her arm, and laughed as Artemis pushed Randy so hard he fell to the ground. She then just walked past Randy and his shocked pals. Dick just ran after her.

"Hey, thanks," Dick said once they were far enough away from the group.

"No problem," Artemis said smiling, "but why do you just let them do that to you?"

"I've already got in enough trouble for fights about other things, and I promised Bruce that I wouldn't get into any more fights." Artemis just nodded in understanding. "Why did you stand up for me?"

"I don't like it when people pick on my friends."

"You think of me as your friend?" Dick asked a bit shocked.

Artemis looked at him accusingly. "What, am I not good enough to be your friend?"

"No… I-I mean yes… I- I mean…" Dick's face got red from embarrassment.

Artemis just laughed. Dick was silent for the rest of the trip to the cafeteria and through the lunch line. It was only after both of them sat down at a table and started eating when he got brave enough to talk again.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked then took a ite of his ham and cheese sandwich.

"I wanted to talk about something Wally told me."

Dick looked down at his tray sadly. "I still can't believe he's really gone."

"Yeah," Artemis said equally as sad.

"So, what did he tell you?" he asked after the few minutes of silence between them.

"Oh, we talked about how he doesn't want me to be unhappy not that he's gone, how you're a little troll," this got a smile out of Dick, "and who you really are."

Dick was in the middle of taking a drink when she said the last part and about choked. After he calmed his coughing, he looked up to her shocked and very surprised. "He told you what?!"

Artemis laughed at his reaction. "I don't think Bruce would like us talking aobut this with all these people around."

Dick looked around at the crowded cafeteria. "Yeah, probably not."

"Hey, listen, I need some help on my history paper and it's due next week. Do you think I could come over after school? You can help me with my paper, talk about this with Bruce, and then go hang out with our friends."

"You want to hang out with us again?" Dick asked surprised.

"Geez, what is it with you? Am I not allowed to hang out with them either?" she asked jokingly.

Dick blushed a little. "Sorry."

Artemis just laughed. "It's alright. Wally wants me to move on. I know it's going to be hard, but I want to try." She looked down at her tray. "You know, he said something else about you too."

Dick quickly gulped down the piece of sandwich that he was chewing. "Like what?" he asked a bit scared now.

"About… us," she said hesitantly not looking up at him. She really wasn't sure if she should be doing this yet. She didn't even know if she had feelings for him in that way.

This time Dick did choke on his food. He got sat the sandwich down, not sure if he could finish it now, and got his coughing under control. "H-he told you about that?"

Artemis put her half eaten sandwich on her own tray and finally looked up at him. "He doesn't want me to be alone, you either, and he said you told him you kinda liked me after the whole Reds thing. I guess he just thought if he gave his permission to like you back that we'd be able to take care of each other."

They were both silent for a few moments, neither one of them touching their food. Dick pulled out his phone and looked at the time. They only had about fifteen minutes left for lunch, and he knew that they needed to tell Bruce everything, but they couldn't just skip school to do it. "Ok, you'll come home with me after school, I'll help you with your paper, and we can talk to Bruce about this whole situation."

Artemis didn't look too thrilled at the idea, even though it was her idea, but nodded in agreement. They then got up and went to dump their trays. They then went off to get ready for their next class.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

After school, Dick waited in the courtyard for Artemis. When he saw her, he waved at her and she walked over to him. "You ready?"

She looked over at the limo and saw Alfred standing there waiting for them and took in a deep breath. "As I'll ever be."

Dick just smiled. "Come on." He then grabbed her hand and drug her over to the limo.

"Good afternoon, Master Dick. How was school?" Alfred asked as he opened the back door of the limo.

"Ok," he replied then motioned for Artemis to get in first.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "I take it we're having company tonight?"

"Yeah, she needs some help on her paper and I told her I would help her with it," Dick replied

"Will she be staying for dinner then?" Alfred asked not pushing the matter further.

Dick smiled then looked at Artemis who nodded. "Yeah," he said looking back at the older man.

"Very good, I will make sure to make extra."

"Thanks," Dick said then got in the car and Alfred closed the door.

"You didn't tell him?" Artemis asked quietly.

"Nah, I figured it'd be best if he didn't know until we decided to tell Bruce." Dick smiled. "It'll make a great dinner conversation."

"Oh yeah, 'cause that's exactly what he's gonna want to hear while he's eating," Artemis said sarcastically.

"Just let me handle it, ok?"

"Fine, whatever, but if you get me killed, I'll never let you forget it." Dick looked away sadly and hurt and she immediately regretted saying that. "I'm sorry, it just came out."

"It's ok," he said with a forced smile. He then turned away from her and looked out the window.

The ride back to the manor was quiet, and they only started talking to each other again when they started working on her history paper. After a few hours, they had the paper pretty much done and Bruce finally walked in the door.

Bruce was surprised to see Artemis sitting on the couch with Dick. "Dick?"

Both Dick and Artemis turned around to face him and Dick smiled. "Hey, Bruce. You remember Artemis, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, she needed help on her paper, so I told her we could come here and then she could have dinner with us."

"Well, I was hoping to leave pretty quickly after we ate, but I guess we could wait a little longer to go out."

"If it's a bad time then I can just go on home. We can do this another time," Artemis said.

Dick looked at her like 'What are you doing?' "No, we have to do this  _tonight_ ," he said a bit sternly.

Artemis looked at Dick with the same attitude. "No, it can wait. I wouldn't want to keep Mr. Wayne away from whatever he has planned. It could be  _important_."

"But this is important too."

Bruce looked at them trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind their bickering. "Alright, alright, calm down. Artemis, it's fine. It's not that big of a deal."

Artemis looked back at Bruce. "No, I can really come back another time," she said as she stood up and began to gather her things.

Dick stood up and grabbed her wrist. "No."

"Dick, stop," she said angrily.

Bruce took a step toward them. "Dick."

Dick sighed, let her go, and turned toward Bruce. "She's knows we're Batman and Robin."

Artemis froze and looked at Dick completely shocked that he just came right out and said it. She then looked at Bruce who now had his eyes narrowed at them and his arms crossed, and she could've sworn the temperature in the room went down several degrees.

"Start talking," Bruce said in a very serious voice.

"It's kind of hard to explain," Bruce just narrowed his eyes even more, "but simply put… Wally told her," Dick said.

"So she's known for a while?" Bruce asked not too happily.

"No, just since last night," Artemis replied.

"That's not possible. Wally's dead." Dick and Artemis flinched at his words. "Dick, tell me the truth."

"That is the truth, Bruce. Wally's been visiting us for the past couple days, or rather his ghost has."

Bruce sighed frustrated. "We both know there is no such things as ghosts."

"But, Bruce…"

"No," Bruce said a bit too loudly causing Dick to flinch away from him a bit. Bruce sighed when he saw a tear run down Dick's cheek and tried to calm himself down then knelt down in front of Dick and placed his hands on Dick's shoulders. "Dick, Wally is gone."

"He isn't," Dick said loudly as the tears now fell more freely. Dick looked over Bruce's shoulder and saw Wally standing there sadly. "He's here."

"Dick, sometimes when people miss someone that's died, they think they see them, but it's only an image that their mind created to help deal with the lose." Dick just continued to stare at Wally.

"But he's here, Bruce. He's right there," Dick said pointing at Wally.

Bruce looked down and away from Dick then back up at him. This time Dick looked at Bruce pleadingly. "There's no one there."

Dick angrily pushed Bruce's hands off his shoulders and backed away from him. "He's right there, Bruce, look at him!" he yelled, tears falling from his eyes again.

Bruce looked at where Dick was pointing, but saw no one. "I see no one."

Dick looked at Wally angrily. "Why don't you show yourself?"

_"Dick, I told you, only you and the rest of the team can see me."_

"Dick, stop," Bruce said now angry at his behavior. Dick looked at him surprised. "Wally is gone. There is nothing you can do about that. Now if you don't want to tell me the real reason why Artemis now knows our secret, fine, but don't go blaming it on someone who can't defend himself anymore." Dick looked hurt at his words. "Now when you're ready to tell me the truth, I'll listen, but until then, I'll be in the study."

Dick, Artemis, and Wally all watched at Bruce headed for the study and then slammed the door. Dick fell to his knees in anger and frustration and Artemis came over, knelt down next to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's going to be ok, Dick. We'll just tell him that I accidentally overheard you talking to him about it on your phone while you were at school or wherever."

_"Or you can just tell him that I told her right before I passed out in the warehouse."_

Dick sniffed and whipped his eyes. "It's not the fact that he doesn't believe the story, it's that he doesn't believe  _me_."

 _"Maybe that's why the adults can't see me,"_ Wally suggested.

"But have you been around adults to prove that?" Artemis asked.

 _"Yeah,"_  he said looking at her,  _"Black Canary came to the cave to check on M'gann, Conner, and Zatanna, and I was standing right in front of her."_

"So they others saw you too?" Dick asked finally starting to calm down a little.

_"No, they were in another room when I tried to see if Canary could see me."_

"Oh," Dick said a little disappointed.

"Well, just tell him that Wally told me at the warehouse just like Wally suggested," Artemis said.

Dick just nodded and they both got up and headed to the study and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Bruce said.

They both looked at each other then back at Wally who just smiled at them for good luck. Artemis then grabbed Dick's hand, which surprised him a bit, but made no move to let go and they walked in.

"Bruce, Wally really did tell Artemis our secret," Dick said.

Bruce narrowed his eyes and looked down at their hands, but said nothing allowing them to continue.

"Before Wally passed out in the warehouse, he pulled me close and told me so quietly that I barely heard him. It wasn't 'til today that I finally got brave enough to tell Dick that I knew."

Bruce still said nothing and the silence was driving both teen crazy.

Finally he broke the silence. "Dick, I'd like to speak with Artemis alone."

Artemis looked at Dick a little scared, but Dick just smiled and squeezed her hand to reassure her that everything would be fine. He then let go of her hand, walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him.

_"I'm sorry I made things worse for you."_

"It's not your fault," Dick said as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

Wally walked over and sat down next to him. _"No, I should've talked it over with you so that we could've had a plan for this."_

"I probably would've just said the same thing. I wasn't thinking when I said that. I should've known that he wouldn't believe in that sort of thing. He's to…"

 _"Batman?"_  Wally suggested with a smile.

Dick chuckled and smiled. "Yeah."

They both then looked up at the study door.  _"So, what do you think he's saying to her?"_

"He's probably just telling her the danger you've put her in and how she could now die because of it." Wally looked at him completely horrified, which only made Dick laugh. "I'm kidding. He's probably just telling her that if she wants to patrol with us that she'll have to train with us and that she does need to be more careful now."

_"Artemis was right. You are a little troll."_

Dick just smiled wider. "And proud of it."

_"Look, I heard her tell you that I told her your secret 'cause I didn't want either one of you to be alone, and she's right. After the funeral tomorrow, I probably won't be able to come back, and I want to make sure you guys are both taken care of."_

"Well, I think we just became closer friends, so I don't think you'll have to worry about that." He then became said again. "I'm really going to miss you."

_"I know, and I'm gonna miss all you guys too."_

Dick looked like he was about to cry again. Wally looked at him sadly and put his arm around Dick's shoulders. As soon as he did, Dick just leaned into Wally's chest and cried. "I don't want to lose my best friend."

Wally rubbed Dick's back.  _"And you never will. I'll always be with you, just like your parents have always been with you."_

Dick sat back up and whipped his eyes with the back of his hand and smiled. "Thanks."

They sat there for another five minutes or so just talking about the past and all the good times they had together until Artemis came out of the study.

"Bruce said to come and get him when supper is ready," she said as she closed the door and walked toward the boys.

"Ok,"

 _"Well, I better get going. I'll see you both tomorrow at the funeral,"_  Wally said and was just about ready to leave.

"Hey, KF, the teams meeting at the mountain before the funeral tomorrow if you want to stop in then," Dick said.

 _"I might. See ya."_ He then jumped into the air and disappeared through the ceiling.

Artemis sat down next to Dick and they both just sat there thinking. "So, what did you two talk about?"

"Just about the fun times we had together."

"That's all," Artemis asked a little skeptical.

"Yeah, what else would we talk about?"

"I don't know, but you just looked like you had been crying again."

"It doesn't matter," he said then was about to turn on the TV when Alfred walked into the room.

"Dinner is ready."

"Ok, thanks," Dick said then stood up.

Artemis stood up as well. "I'll tell Bruce."

Dick nodded then headed off to the dinning room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Well there you...
> 
> Robin: Ok, they're done reading. Tell me.
> 
> Me: Ok, ok. Well, like i said, they caught me and hung me over that tank. Well you remember how Artemis wanted sharks in the tank?
> 
> Robin: Yeah?
> 
> Me: Well there was something in the tank that had a fin sticking out of the top of the water, but it wasn't sharks.
> 
> Robin: Then what were they?
> 
> Me: Dolphins. *grining*
> 
> Robin: Dolphins? Really? If she wanted sharks, why did she get dolphins?
> 
> Me: Why do you think she's trying to kill Wally?
> 
> Robin: She let Wally get them? Well that was her mistake.
> 
> Me: Yeah, but she told him to get the sharks.
> 
> Robin: Why didn't he.
> 
> Me: Something about dolphins being better.
> 
> Robin: Well, they do have sharp teeth and can be a very dangerous predater if they want to be.
> 
> Me: Well I'm just glad dolphins are on our side. *to readers* Well, how'd you like the chapter.
> 
> Robin: Tell her in a... hey!
> 
> Wally: *speeding by* Sorry, Rob.
> 
> Robin: *getting up* Tell her in a comment while I go kill Wally my self. *runs after Wally*
> 
> Me: Hmmm, I wonder where Arty went... Oh well, I'm gonna try to get the next and last chapter up very soon, so keep an eye out. See ya
> 
> Artemis: *runs in room* Wally!


	6. The Final Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Here it is. The final chapter.
> 
> Artemis: *draging Wally by the ear* Next time listen to me.
> 
> Wally: Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
> 
> Robin: I'm glad this was all just a story, or you would really be fed to the sharks.
> 
> Me: *laughing nerviously* Heh, yeah... Well, I hope you enjoy this last chapter.

Robin, Artemis, and the rest of the team, plus Roy, all walked into the Central City Funeral Home together and saw the open casket at the front of the room. They all walked toward it, but Artemis and Robin couldn't go up there yet. They still weren't ready to accept it yet.

M'gann started crying as soon as she saw Wally's body and Conner just pulled her into his arms and walked them to their seats, Roy and Kaldur just passed sadly, and Rocket and Zatanna had a few tears escaping their eyes as they said their goodbyes then they all headed to their seats too.

M'gann was still crying, but not as hard, and she and Zatanna just went up to Robin and Artemis and gave them both a hug. "I know this is hitting you two the hardest," Zatanna said. "Just know that we're all here for you."

Robin smiled. "Thanks, Zee."

"Yeah," Artemis agreed, "thanks."

"Are you going to say your final goodbye to Wally?" M'gann asked.

Robin and Artemis looked toward the casket at the front of the room. "I don't know if I can," Artemis said.

Robin grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "We can do it together."

Artemis smiled at him and they both walked up to the casket hand in hand.

Zatanna frowned when she saw them holding hands, maybe even a little jealous.  _'No, they're just friends comforting each other. Robin still likes me.'_  However, she wasn't so sure. That morning she saw them together a lot and she could've sworn she saw them flirting with each other a little. She sat down in her seat and stared at both of them.

Artemis and Robin both looked down at Wally's body and Robin felt a little sick, but pushed that out of his mind when Artemis tightened her grip on his hand as tears started to fall down her cheeks. Robin looked up at her. "We're going to make it. We just have to hold on to all the good memories," Robin told her.

Artemis looked at him and smiled. "I know." She took one more look at Wally's body then turned around. "Come on, let's go sit down."

Robin nodded and followed her to two empty seats next to Zatanna and sat down.

Superman stood up and walked to the front of the room with the preacher that was going to do the service. "Thank you all for coming," Superman started. "We all knew Wally, Kid Flash, in one way or another, whether it be family or friends. I just wanted to say that we will all miss you, Wally, and we'll never forget you." He then went back to his seat and the preacher began the service.

The whole service took about an hour and a half because Black Canary sang one of Wally's favorite songs, Flash told everyone his and Wally's best crime fighting moments, Roy, Kaldur, and Robin told the good times they've had with him, and finally his parents told everyone what it was like to raise him and how much they would miss him.

After everything was done, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, J'onn, Green Arrow, and Roy all carried Wally's casket to the hearse and everyone went to the grave site.

It took about five minutes to get there and as soon as Robin stepped out of the Batmobile and saw all the gravestones, he froze. All the memories of his parents deaths and the funeral came crashing in and made him fall to the ground.

Artemis and Batman saw him fall, ran over to him, and knelt down beside him. "Robin, are you alright?" Batman asked.

Robin looked up at him. "Yeah, it's just… that day… all this is bringing back all those memories of that day," Robin replied tears falling from his eyes for the first time that day.

Both Artemis and Batman helped him stand back up. "If you don't think you can do this, you can stay in the car," Batman told him.

"No," Robin shook his head, "I need to do this. I'll be fine, it just hit me all at once 'cause I was trying not to think about it." He looked up at Batman. "I can handle it."

Batman nodded and went over to the hearse to help unload the casket, leaving Artemis to help Robin.

"Dick, are you sure you can handle this? I mean, you have been through a lot over the years," Artemis asked quietly.

"Yeah, I've handled it in the past, I can handle it now. Like I said, it just caught me off guard."

"Ok." She then grabbed his hand and they both walked to the chairs.

Before they got to the chairs though, Wally appeared before them. "Wally," Artemis said with a small smile.

 _"Hey, Arty. Hey, Rob,"_  Wally said smiling back at them.

"Why weren't you at the mountain this morning, or at the service earlier?" Robin asked.

_"I was, I just wasn't visible then."_

"Oh," Dick replied. All three of them went over to sit next to the rest of the team.

When Wally walked up to the others, all of their eyes went wide.  _"Hey, guys,"_  Wally said as he waved at them.

"Wally?" M'gann asked surprised and not really believing her eyes.

Robin looked around then turned to the others. "Let's go behind the tent so the others don't think we're crazy."

As they all walked out from under the tent, Flash stopped them. "Where are you kids going?"

"We'll be right back, ten minutes tops," Robin said then they all walked away not waiting for a response and leaving Flash standing there confused.

Once they got back behind the tent, they all gathered around Wally.

"What are you doing here?" M'gann asked.

 _"Well, it is my funeral,"_  Wally said trying to make them laugh, but fail miserably.  _"I came to say goodbye."_

"What?" Zatanna questioned. "Goodbye? But you're here."

"Yeah, but he can't stay long," Artemis said.

"Then why are you allowed to come now?" Kaldur asked.

_"My time wasn't yet finished. I needed to complete something and I think that was to help Artemis cope with all this and help her move on."_

Artemis walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll never forget you and I don't know if I'll ever get over this, but," she looked to Robin and smiled then back to Wally, "I think I'll live."

Wally pulled her close and kissed her. Robin looked away not wanting to be jealous and to let them have one last kiss between them.  _"I'll always be with you, babe,"_ Wally said after he pulled away. He then called Robin over to them and he put Artemis' hand in Robin's.  _"Take care of her Rob."_

Artemis and Robin both smiled and blushed a little. "I will," he said.

"We are all going to miss you, my friend," Kaldur said.

"Yeah, a lot," M'gann agreed.

 _"And I'll miss you all too, especially the missions, but I'll be with all of you in spirit. I'll keep an eye on you guys and make sure you don't get into any trouble."_  They all smiled.

"Say hi to my mom and dad for me, and tell them I miss them," Robin said.

 _"I will,"_  Wally said.  _"Well, I got to go. They're waiting for me."_

"Who is?" Conner asked.

_"Well, Rob's parents for one thing… oh and they said hi, they miss you too, and that they love you very much and always will."_

Robin smiled and another tear escaped his eye. "Te iubesc, prea." And just for a few seconds, Dick saw his parents smiling down at him.

 ** _"We're very proud of you son,"_**  his father said.

Robin smiled and a few more tears escaped his eyes.

 _"Well, see ya,"_ Wally said then jumped and headed up toward the sky.  _"Oh, and tell BC that I loved the song."_  He then disappeared.

They all walked back under the tent and the preacher walked up to them. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah, we just wanted to say goodbye to a friend," Robin said smiling and looked up to the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Last chapter done, and I was really proud of that ending.
> 
> Wally: Yeah, way to make it all about Rob.
> 
> Robin: Hey, it wasn't all about me!
> 
> Artemis: Well, you did get the girl, saw your parents, and had the final say.
> 
> Robin: Well don't blame me. Reading Nut's the one that did it.
> 
> Me: Ok now. *starts backing away* Everyone just calm down.
> 
> Artemis: Oh relax, we aren't going to hurt you.
> 
> Me: You're not?
> 
> Wally: Maybe they're not, but I've got a few choice words for you.
> 
> Me: *gulps and runs away screaming*
> 
> Wally: *runs after RNC*
> 
> Artemis: Well, I guess that means we have to close this story up.
> 
> Robin: Yep. Let her know what you thought of the chapter and the story.
> 
> Artemis: She lives for comments people.
> 
> Robin: Yeah, the more you comment, the better chance of more stories... About me... Being tortured or kidnapped or... Wait a minute. I don't...
> 
> Artemis: *puts a hand over Robin's mouth* He wants it guys cause he secretly likes it.
> 
> Robin: *trys to say something*
> 
> Artemis: That was the last work from you. *to readers* Bye guys.


End file.
